AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I didn’t know about it. And I didn’t think you guys would ever come up here.”
“We’re definitely coming back. Cheap food. Hot girls. Giant TVs. It’s a fucking dream come true.”
“And I’m here,” I kid. “So there’s that.”
Sean laughs. “That goes without saying.” He grips my shoulder. “We’ve missed you, Jake. It’s good having you back in town.”
If Sean and Leo still want to be friends with me, then I’m not as different as Tara says I am. I’m still one of the guys from the neighborhood. The only thing that’s changed is that I’m going to college.
Sean and Leo can see that, so why can’t Tara? Or was she just making up an excuse for why we can’t be together?
I keep telling myself to accept that she doesn’t want to be with me, but there’s this nagging feeling in my gut telling me it’s not true. That she does want to be with me, but won’t let herself. And I don’t know why.
26
JAKE
“You ready to go?”Rob asks, putting on his coat.
It’s Saturday and I told Rob I’d go to the football game with him. It’s cold and rainy, so not great weather for sitting outside, but that’s not the reason I don’t want to go to the game. The reason I’m thinking of bailing on Rob is because of a dream I had last night about Tara. She was yelling for help, but I couldn’t get to her. I was in a dark tunnel and kept running toward her, but I couldn’t reach her.
I woke up sweating and my heart was beating fast. It was three in the morning, but I couldn’t get back to sleep. I’ve never been someone who pays attention to dreams, but I felt like this one was telling me something, like that Tara was in danger.
If I told anyone this, they’d say the dream was just about me missing Tara, and maybe that’s all it was, but I can’t get rid of this nagging feeling telling me to check on her and make sure she’s okay.
“Jake,” Rob says, getting my attention. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”
“I’m going to skip it.”
“Skip the game?” He looks at me, confused. “Are you sick?”
“No, I need to go check on something.”
“What do you need to check on?”
“I don’t want to say. Can you just let it go?”
“Um, yeah, okay.” He walks to the door. “You’re really not going?”
“Not today. Maybe next week.”
“Then I guess I’ll see you later.”
When he’s gone, I put on my jacket and go out to my car. Tara works at the diner on Saturdays, and I’m sure she’s not in any danger so I don’t know why I’m doing this. In fact, now that I’m driving there, I feel stupid for taking action on a feeling I got from a dream.
I almost stop and turn around, but decide to keep going. I have to know that she’s okay. Once I see that she is, I’ll leave and won’t bother her again. But how do I explain why I’m there? I’ll have to come up with an excuse.
“Booth or table?” the hostess asks as I go into the diner.
“I’m actually here to see Tara. She’s working today, right?”
“Yeah, at the counter.” The hostess smiles at me. “Are you her boyfriend?”
“Um, no,” I say, wishing I could answer that with a yes. “I just need to talk to her.”
“Go ahead and have a seat.”
I walk over to the long counter lined with stools and take a seat at the end. The place is busier than I expected, with almost every table and booth filled and only a few seats left at the counter.
